Nir Arieli's Tension With Dancing

I always think that the most perfect human form is that of a dancer. Each muscle toned to perfection through the mastery of movement and control. That is why these photographs by New York based Nir Arieli moved me. He captures each dancer's graceful and controlled movement, overlapping them to create a dynamic image.

Nir explains this project, titled Tension:

"I can’t dance. I can’t in my room, nor in a club, let alone any kind of stage. Whenever I am forced to try, I stumble or freeze or drink enough to disappear. However, this time, for the first time, I found myself actively involved in dancing - even if by using someone else’s body.

In my project I function as a visual choreographer, making up a certain movement language that is the outcome of a verbal dialogue between the photographed dancer and I. On my part, it is a language born of a screech, it is uncomfortably beautiful.

I don’t predetermine the result - insisting on well-planned perfectness - but rather establish a strong understanding, let the dancer improvise and capture his movements. Afterwards, I experiment with layering various photos on top of each other, searching for intriguing combinations. Unlike everything I had done in the past, which was always carefully sculpted, this time I put my trust in the coincidental.

My subjects provided me with the physical intelligence. I only had vague mental images, a camera, and a long history of unused dance floors."

View more of Nir Arieli's incredible photography at nirarieli.com and Behance.